What are T Levels
T Levels are delivered by selected schools and colleges. They are taught full time and include an industry placement, with up to two employers, for a minimum of 315 hours (approximately 45 days), which can include up to 35 hours of work taster activities, delivered in an employment setting. Although students will complete their industry placement in an employment setting, they will not be an employee and are not require to be paid, though some employers choose to pay their students and/or offer them a supplementary bank role for paid employment.
T Level programmes provide students with: broad knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary for employment in an occupation or industry related to their field of study an opportunity to develop specialist technical skills relevant to at least one occupation relevant maths, English and digital skills.
T Levels will also provide a progression pathway to skilled employment, higher or degree-level apprenticeships and higher education.
For those not ready to go directly onto a level three T Level qualification, a transition programme will be available. Find out more about the transition programme.
BTEC defunding
The Department for Education (DfE) has published the outcomes of the recent Review of Qualifications Reform, centred around proposed defunding of BTECs and additional Level 3 qualifications.
The original proposal to defund was made based on the need for simplification of the Level 3 offer, and the significant overlap with T Levels. A change in government saw the proposal paused.
DfE have concluded that several Level 3 qualifications on the health and science route will be permitted to continue to be taught until July 2026, at which point the outcome of a longer-term review will be determined.
A full list of those extended or defunded can be found here. The following qualifications, most relevant to health and care employers, have had funding extended to 2026:
- NCFE CACHE Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care
- NCFE CACHE Level 3 Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care
- NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care
- OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma in Health
- OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Diploma in Health and Social Care
- Pearson BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care
- Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Health and Social Care
- iCQ Level 3 Diploma in Adult Care
- TQUK Level 3 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health (RQF)
Providers can appeal defunded qualifications until the 24th of January 2025.
The DfE believes that by 2026 a combination of A Levels, T Levels and new qualifications that are developed from the above will be suitable for the range of learners studying health and care qualifications.
Further information of the outcomes of the 2024 Review of Qualifications Reform is available on the Gov.Uk website.
Programme structure and career pathways
A T Level programme is expected to take students around 1,800 hours over two years to complete, including the industry placement.
There is a full range of T Level courses available which will support the NHS including: health, healthcare science, science, business services, childcare, digital, facilities management and HR. View the full list of T Levels and the occupations they can lead to on completion.
Towards the end of their first year, students must select a specialism to follow, which enables them to focus their learning toward an occupation, such as physiotherapy or mental health nursing.
‘Since taking part in the pilot, the trust has already created placements in maintenance, administration, and with porters and ward clerks. They have also agreed a placement plan for allied health professions and healthcare science.’
Read how Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust piloted industry placements with BTEC health and care students, in partnership with their local college.
Find out more about the structure of T Level courses and the stakeholders involved in developing T Levels on the Department for Education website, or resources from healthcare apprenticeships standards online.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has developed a number of occupational maps for T Level programmes which show the skills, behaviours and core competencies required for industry roles. However, T Level students do not achieve full occupational competency through their industry placement in the same way that they would if they completed an apprenticeship. The industry placement is designed to provide a taster of the variety of roles available within a subject area.
For more information, including guidance, tools and resources visit employer industry placements.
UCAS Points
On completion of a T Level course, UCAS points will be awarded. The table below shows the points and grade equivalents.
|
UCAS Tariff Points |
T Level grade |
A Level equivalent grade |
|
168 |
Distinction* (A* on the core and distinction |
3 A*s at A Level |
|
144 |
Distinction |
3 As at A Level |
|
120 |
Merit |
3 Bs at A Level |
|
96 |
Pass |
3 Cs at A Level |
|
72 |
Pass |
3 Ds or Es at A Level |
T Level industry placements explored
Industry placements are intended to provide a practical insight into a learner’s chosen sector and should offer the young person a chance to embed their knowledge and skills learned in the education setting. For you as an employer, industry placements provide the opportunity to engage with a new talent pipeline and showcase the variety of roles available in health and social care.
A T Level industry placement can be formed in a variety of different ways:
- be a continuous block of working days or a number of days each week
- be distributed across the first and/or second years of the T Level course
- include a taster placement of up to 35 hours
- be hosted by a maximum of two employers for further understanding of the industry. For example, some providers may wish for students to spend some time in their first year in a social care setting, moving to a hospital setting in the second year
- employers can choose to interview the students who are coming onto placement, or ask the provider to select suitable students
- be gained by paid, part time employment aligned to their chosen T Level subject.
A work taster activity is an opportunity for a student to gain an understanding of the working environment prior to starting their placement.
This could involve a site visit, a chance to meet employees sharing information on their roles, completion of mandatory training or the opportunity to share expectations. Employers should reflect on how this time can be used effectively, for example bringing the entire cohort of students together for the training or integrating some elements of the taster activities with other staff groups, for example healthcare support worker inductions. This may also be used as an opportunity to explore some of the roles available in healthcare, potentially shaping later parts of the student's placement.
‘T Level Industry placements at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust are finishing a second successful year and now host placement students from three different colleges. Their first cohort of five students have just finished and are now moving onto their next steps.’
Benefits to offering T Level industry placements
- provide an opportunity to tap into new talent pipelines and showcase the NHS as a great place to work
- allow you to showcase the breadth and depth of roles available in the NHS, including shortage occupations and hard to fill roles
- provide a new supply route into a variety of professions using T Level pathways
- offers opportunities for existing staff to mentor and supervise T Level students aiding staff development and retention
- encouraging young people with skills and new ideas into the health service
- build relationships with further education and other providers in your local area.
As of 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) have implemented new delivery approaches that are intended to provide more flexibility, widen the pool and help ensure students can access high-quality and meaningful placements across the country. Further general guidance is available on the GOV.UK website.
The delivery approaches can be used for T Level and all Capacity and Delivery funded placements, with immediate effect, and include:
- Skills hub and employer training centres, where students can spend up to one third of their total industry placement hours in an employer skills hub or training centre to improve their readiness for the real workplace.
- Special educational needs and disability approach (SEND) for students with SEND.
- Youth Offenders Institution approach for all young offenders studying T Levels within young offender institutions.
The below video explores industry placements in the NHS:
Your organisation may wish to ask the student to sign an honorary contract prior to starting a placement, depending on local policies. This can be a good way of emulating some of the elements present when they join the workforce, including a contract with expectations and terms of employment.
NHS Employers have created an honorary contract template that can be used.
Getting started with industry placements
A key organisation which is assisting with industry placements is the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS). They are responsible for providing advice on T Level industry placements to employers. They can also provide a matching service which employers can use to find local education providers who are offering T Level programmes.
Alternatively, employers can use the Gov.Uk website to search for providers offering relevant T Levels in their area. You can search by town and postcode, and filter by T Level subject.
Funding T Level placements
There are a small number of temporary funding initiatives available for providers offering T Levels for the 2024/25 academic year, which are important for employers to be aware of.
- A prior 10 per cent uplift in T Level funding has been continued for the 2024/25 academic year. T Level providers will see this in their 16-19 funding allocations.
- A Specialist Equipment Allocation is available for providers delivering T Levels for the first time in 2024/25. The allocation is based on how many students providers believe they will have in the fourth year of delivery. Providers will have received payments for 2024 in march 2024, with allocation for 2025 expected in early 2025.
- Further information is available in the T Levels funding guide 2024 to 2025.
The below video showcases a student on an adult nursing industry placement in the NHS:
Placements for students under eighteen
There is a myth that students on industry placement who are under the age of eighteen are unable to work in clinical settings. This is incorrect, and we have created a page to provide guidance on good employment practice when employing people under the age of 18. This page includes links to case studies with Yeovil District Hospital NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. We have also spoken to Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on how they have effectively supported students under eighteen.
NHS Employers held a webinar to discuss the benefits and barriers of hosting students under eighteen.
Safe working hours, DBS and safeguarding
T Level learners may be under 18. Under 18s can work in clinical and non-clinical settings, however employers must provide a safe working environment with safe working hours. Most placements will take place during regular daytime working hours, but in some placements, this may involve working outside normal working hours and should be evaluated to determine the necessity of working outside of these hours. Working patterns should be agreed with the training provider as part of the work plan discussion. Read more on the legal requirements as an employer on the GOV.UK website.
Students must have the correct safeguarding in place to protect themselves and patients while on placement. Training providers hold overall responsibility for safeguarding and the welfare of the student on an industry placement. The training providers will check policies and procedures to make sure the workplace is a safe environment for the student, they may carry out a site visit before the placement starts.
Where necessary, the student must be provided with the relevant equipment to fulfil their duties, the cost of this can be claimed through the education provider.
A DBS check is not required for learners or the staff supervising the student, however, you can request your training provider undertakes a DBS check if this is necessary. The training provider may also ask that the line manager or supervisor to undergo a basic DBS check if they feel this is necessary. For more information, view the NHS Employers DBS check eligibility tool and the GOV.UK T Levels web section.
Supporting young offenders and students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
T Levels and industry placements are available to young offenders and SEND students. These learners may receive additional adjustments to their course, including a maximum of 105 hours of the industry placement being delivered in the education setting, before completing the remainder of the industry placement in an industry setting. This is to help young offenders and SEND students prepare for a real-life work environment.
